INTRODUCTION — HUNTINGTON W.VA. PHOTOGRAPHERS, 1870-1900

THE CITY OF HUNTINGTON, W. VA.,
was founded in 1870 as the terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio
Railroad by its name sake, Collis P. Huntington,
and it was incorporated the following year. Guyandotte,
a sister community founded
in 1799, was located on the eastern side of the
new city; it was eventually incorporated into
the Huntington in 1911. Huntington quickly
expanded as people flocked to the city and opened
businesses—including
photographers.
There was a least one photographer active in
Guyandotte near the time of Huntington’s
incorporation. The Huntington Argus ran
advertisements for William W. Wyman in its 1872
issues; he had a studio over the William &
Russell Drug Store. His advertisements said, “Just drop in
and give him a chance ‘to catch your shadow’.”
The next year the newspaper also carried ads for
George C. Teaford’s Star Art Gallery, where he
said he was “now ready to take Pictures of all
sizes and shapes.” Teaford may have been
the first actual photographer to open a studio
within
the new city limits. Unfortunately nothing is
known about these two men, other than their ads
in the newspapers. Neither men’s name appear in
the Cabell County, West Virginia, 1880 Federal Census,
suggesting that they were no longer in the city
by the end of the decade. Regrettably, only
Teaford’s work seems to have survived in a
single print in the Marshall University
Libraries’ Special Collections department. The
department has no example of Wyman’s work.
Another photographer, George Kirk, opened his
studio in 1875. Fortunately examples of his work
survived and appear as part of this exhibit. He
left the city in 1888 and he eventually
resumed his photographic career in the state of
Washington. The Special Collections department
also has a number of prints by a
Huntington photographer identified only as
“Handley,” whose pictures appears to date from
the 1870s, but all attempts to further identify
him has proved fruitless.
During the 1880s additional photographers,
sometimes in partnership,
opened studios in the
city. These men, whose cabinet
cards appear as part of this exhibit, were:
Alfred T. Proctor, William J. Fenner, Samuel V.
Matthews, and Darwin E. Abbott. Most of these
men were successful, their businesses continuing
into the 1890s, and in some cases decades into
the twentieth century. The reader may view their
individual biographical sketches that accompany
this exhibit to learn of their lives.
During the 1890s a few more men opened
studios. One was Leonidas W. Humphreys, who
eventfully partnered with Samuel V. Matthews,
whose works appear as part of this exhibit.
Another photographer with surviving of his work
in Special Collections was
John S. Sayre, who was listed in the 1891-1892
Huntington City Directory with a studio at 1007 Fourth Avenue.
However by the end of the middle of the decade
he was no longer living in Huntington. The
1895-1896 Huntington City Directory listed photographers Thomas Huff and William
L. Raines, both of whom apparently. Examples of
Raines’ work can be found in this exhibit,
but there are none of Huff’s work. The work of
Thomas Barrette also makes up part of the exhibit,
but little is known of his life.
A photographer also operated the City Gallery—examples
of his work appears in the exhibit, but attempts
to identify him has proved unsuccessful.
The 1895-96 city directory also listed Elmer
B. Tully as the partner of Alfred T. Proctor. He
roomed in the studio at 1048 Third Avenue.
Little is know about him. He may have been the
son of Samuel and Emma Tully of Charleston, who
in the 1880 federal census was listed an Elmer
as their seven-year-old son. That would made him
about twenty-two in 1895 and he could have been
the man hired by Proctor and roomed in the
studio. This is, however, speculation. Tully’s name appeared
on some of the Proctor Studio cabinet cards in
1890s.
All these photographers played an important part
in recording the development of Huntington and
its surroundings, especially its people. Many of
their extent cabinet cards, the popular format
of the late nineteenth century, are not only
historical records, but in many cases actual
works of art. Hopefully the viewer will come to
appreciate their work anew. And, if any viewer
can shed additional light on any of the men
listed in the exhibit, or have photographs they
took, please contact Special Collections
department Marshall University (304-696-2343).